Maine has joined 22 other states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over its termination of $11 billion in Covid-related grant funding last week.
Filed in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, the lawsuit is also seeking a temporary restraining order to restore the funds.
The suit alleges that the abrupt termination of federal grants was arbitrary, that it will seriously harm public health and puts states at greater risk for future pandemics.
Plaintiffs also say that cutting off the grants is unlawful because Congress approved the funding and US HHS has not demonstrated that fund recipients failed to comply with the grants.
The cuts affect nearly $91 million in funding in Maine, and the state CDC says it's laying off 40 contracted workers as a result.
